


Silly with Love: A Pamphlet on the Paramount Value of Third-Party Arbitration

by Liminal_Space_LLC



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Caitlin Farmer is the greatest, Chris Chow is just the sweetest, Derek Nurse gets his pants Charmed off (in every sense), Established Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Pining, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-25 23:57:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17735108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liminal_Space_LLC/pseuds/Liminal_Space_LLC
Summary: Caitlin noticed as soon as he entered the room. “What’s up? You seem a little hot and bothered.”“Nothing. Just. Nursey’s downstairs.” He focused on laying out their food on his desk.“Aaaaah.” He felt her body press up against him, and her arms wrapped around his waist. His heartbeat eased up a little. She kissed the back of his neck. “You should tell him how you feel.”





	Silly with Love: A Pamphlet on the Paramount Value of Third-Party Arbitration

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Valentine to corgiberus <3

“Babe, not that I don’t love making out, but I’m kinda hungry.”

Chris pulled back reluctantly from Cait’s neck. She looked so damn cute, with her hair all over his pillow, dressed in one of his Sharks t-shirts. He really could not stand the idea of her leaving his bed right now. Instead, he drew his fingers down her lovely lovely quads. “How about this: I’ll hop down to the kitchen, get us some food, and we can have breakfast in bed?”

She leaned up to kiss his nose. “That sounds perfect.”

As soon as Chris stood, his legs had that strange out-of-body feeling they got after a tough game, but he tried to keep quiet on the Haus stairs. He doubted if anyone else was awake yet. They didn’t have the temptation of a Caitlin Farmer in their bed.

Except, the moment he stepped in the kitchen, Chris found a vision nearly as beautiful as the one he had just left behind. Derek Nurse, reading Foucault and sipping espresso, dressed only in Minion patterned pajama pants, eating Froot Loops. He half wanted to laugh and half wanted to drag Derek onto the new couch and kiss him silly.

He took a slightly more conventional route. “Hey!”

Derek looked up from his reading. “Hey.” God, that little smile. Derek should be more careful with that. He might kill someone with that thing.

Chris gathered up the supplies for cheerios with banana slices and dumped them in one of the Stop and Shop bags.

“Breakfast in bed?” Derek asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“You two are the cutest.”

For some reason, that made Chris’s heart rate go up and his cheeks turn hot, so he took his bag of food and sped up the stairs.

Caitlin noticed as soon as he entered the room. “What’s up? You seem a little hot and bothered.”

“Nothing. Just. Nursey’s downstairs.” He focused on laying out their food on his desk.

“Aaaaah.” He felt her body press up against him, and her arms wrapped around his waist. His heartbeat eased up a little. She kissed the back of his neck. “You should tell him how you feel.”

“I know! I know. It’ just—same thing as always, y’know?”

“Chris, I am a hundred percent confident that Derek knows your heart is big enough to be fully in love with two people at once.”

In his heart, Chris knew that dating Derek would be ‘swawesome. Derek would never make Chris choose between him and Cait. Derek would be honest about what he needed. Derek would be a great boyfriend because Derek was respectful and kind and smart and gentle and adorable and sexy and—

“Chris? You there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” He took a deep breath and came to a decision. “Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll tell him!”

“Awesome. I’m so proud of you! Also.” She grinned and stuck a banana in her mouth. “Look. Issa dick.”

“I love you.”

***

But telling Derek how he felt was easier said than done. It turned out he and Derek spent a lot of time around other people, especially now that the playoffs were in sight and midterms were in full swing. The closest Chris ever got to being alone with Derek was when they were hanging out with Will. And William Poindexter, though dear to Chris’s heart, was not famous for his ability to take hints.

Finally, a full five days after he talked to Cait, Chris found Derek in the weights room alone, doing his physical therapy exercises.

“Hey Nursey! Where’s Dex?”

“He’s at a midterm review thing, I think.”

“Cool! Alright! ‘Swawesome!”

Derek gave him a kind of odd look, and Chris realized he was acting nuts. He went over to a machine and started working out to cover the awkwardness.

This was definitely the moment. He and Derek were going to finish working out. Then they were going to walk back to the Haus, and Chris was going to tell Derek how he felt. Or maybe he would ask Derek out? Or maybe he should talk about being poly a little bit first, just to test the waters. Though Derek surely knew about polyamory. He was Derek Nurse! The coolest guy Chris knew!

Then it hit him. Derek Nurse was the coolest guy he knew. He single-handedly started the new hipster-prep trend at Samwell. He took all the hardest classes just because he could. He had a literal fan club.

Derek was so out of Chris’s league.

To make things worse, at that precise moment, Derek walked up to him, sculpted chest heaving, brown skin glowing, moss-green eyes crinkled, to ask, “Want to grab Annie’s before we go back to the Haus?”

“Yeah!” Chris was doomed. Utterly, utterly doomed.

***

Cait, as per usual, came in clutch.

They were dancing at Louis and Nursey’s #Epikegster2017, Nursey and Cait on either side of him. Chris was a little sloshed from losing several games of beer pong, and he wanted to just stay right there forever.

Derek was right in front of him, smiling his warmest, happiest smile. Chris’s favorite smile.

Chris loved him so much. So much. He had to say something. Do something. So Derek would know how loved he was.

The song faded and in the soft prelude to the next one, Chris leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Derek’s lovely lovely cheek, just to say how wonderful he was.

When he pulled away Derek was staring at him, his head tilted in confusion.

Then Chris remembered. He and Derek didn’t do kissing. It wasn’t a thing with them. Fuck fuck fuck.

Cait yelled over the music, “Go! Talk!” and he felt her push him toward Derek.

Derek glanced at her and leaned forward. “Wanna go talk?”

Chris’s throat was suddenly very dry. He nodded.

Derek took his wrist and led him through the crowd, up to the second floor.

“Your room, or mine?”

“Mine?”

“Okay.”

Then he and Derek were standing on his Sharks area rug, staring at each other.

Chris’s heart rate was through the roof. “Can we, um, sit?”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

They climbed up on Chris’s bed, where Chris at least had Sharkie, and he didn’t have to stare into Derek’s eyes.

Finally, Derek whispered, “You kissed me.”

Chris nodded. He did do that. That was true.

“Do you regret it?”

“No.”

“Okay. Why did you kiss me? Like, what did it mean, I mean.”

Chris closed his eyes. “Derek, I like you. Sooo much. And when you’re happy, I just. Love it. Seeing you so happy.”

Derek’s voice was even softer than before. “You want to kiss me when I’m happy?”

Chris had to look at him then. “Well, when you’re sad too. And sometimes when you tell bad puns! I just, want to kiss you. A lot. Whenever you should be kissed!”

“Whenever I should be kissed.” His eyes shone like stars. “Should I be kissed now?”

“Of course!”

“Kiss me. Please, kiss me.”

Chris could not say no to those eyes. He kissed Derek, and Derek’s lips were soft and sweet and his kiss was warm like hot chocolate shot with rum.

Chris pulled away sooner than he wanted. He had to know if this could really happen before he fell in too deep. “Derek, I love Cait so much.”

“I know.”

“I want to be with her! And I also I want to be with you! I really, really want to be with you both, equally.” He took a long deep breath, and asked, “Would that be okay with you?”

“Chris.” Derek leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “That would be so okay. More than okay. That sounds incredible. We’re gonna have so much fun.”

“Oh!” For a moment, Chris was floating, then—“I’m going to kiss you again.”

They didn’t end up going back to the party.

***

In the morning, Chris snapped Cait a picture of him and Derek curled up in bed together, Derek nuzzling his chin. She sent him back a smug smile captioned, “You’re welcome.”

He was the luckiest guy in the universe.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this was so much fun! I love Chris Chow with all my heart.
> 
> This is actually the second thing I wrote for my Valentine because the first one grew too big. I'll be posting the other one soon, likely starting on Valentine's Day, so if you want more Nursey/Chowder, keep an eye out!


End file.
